Suzette Simpson, English Teacher, Passes Away

Suzette Simpson, 89, passed away Monday July 24, 2016 peacefully at her home in Leesburg, VA. She is survived by her children, Sally-Ann, Jenifer, Michele, and Stuart, and grandchildren Jeffrey and Joshua; she was pre-deceased by her husband John Simpson, who died in 2008.

Suzette was born in 1927 in Essex, UK, and met her husband John at Romford Polytechnic Institute just after the end of WWII. They married in 1950 and lived in Guildford, Surrey, UK, immigrating to Connecticut, USA, in 1966, where they later both became naturalized American citizens.

Suzette was a graduate of Heath Park high school, Romford, Essex, UK, and received her General Certificates of Education in English, French, math and biology. She also obtained a Gregg/Pittman Shorthand & Typing Certification—the ability to write in shorthand remained with her all her life. After WWII in the UK, she was selected to be part of a fast-track teacher training program and received her Teaching Diploma from Lady Spencer Churchill College, Oxford, England. She later earned a Master of Arts Degree in English Literature, with a concentration in Shakespeare Studies, from the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut. She taught children in the middle school years. In the U.S., she was a teacher in Westport, Connecticut and also tutored adult students in English and typing at Katie Gibbs Secretarial School, Norwalk, Connecticut. Later she qualified as a Realtor Associate, and worked for Century21.

In retirement, Suzette volunteered as a Help Desk Information Specialist at Loudoun County Hospital, Leesburg, Virginia, and with her husband John, was a Community Volunteer for the local Police Constabulary in Lincolnshire, UK. She also had been a Sunday School Bible Study Leader at Christ & Holy Trinity Church, Westport, Connecticut, and was a Congregation Member at St. James Episcopal Church, Leesburg, VA. She was an active Member of the Leesburg Senior Center, Leesburg, VA, a Member of the Daughters of the British Empire (DBE), and a life-long student of English literature and history.

An Anglican funeral service will be held for Suzette on 30th July 2016, and she will be interred at Union Cemetery, Leesburg, Virginia, alongside her husband.

The family requests that donations be made to the Loudoun Library Foundation Inc., 145 East Market Street, Leesburg, VA 20176, in her memory.